How To Get Started In Your School:
Choose Your Participants: Decide if you’re running the campaign with Juniors, Intermediates and/or both.
Pick a date for the Kickoff Assembly: Depending on the participants, the Kickoff Assembly will be either half an hour for one division or an hour for two divisions.
Set up your bulletin board: Include the title, ‘What’s Important to you? Own it, _______ (your school name)’. To start, you can add the poster and shirt to the bulletin board. Once pictures of participants are taken, they can replace the poster and shirt.
Learn the theme song ahead of time: During the Kickoff Assembly, participants will be singing the theme song together in unison. We’ll request that four participants, one teacher and three students or two teachers and two students, join us on stage to fill in the blank ‘I’m _____ and I own it.’ Ahead of time, they’ll think of something important to share that others may or may not know about them. For example, ‘sensitive’, 'artistic’, ‘Korean’, ‘ADHD’, ‘smart’, to name a few. The rest of the song will be sung by everyone.
After the Kickoff Assembly: In partners, students and staff will ask each other what’s important to them and why. Since they need to narrow it down to one word, they can find synonyms online or from each other. Then it’s the other person’s turn to answer. A safe environment is established because participants choose what they are comfortable owning. Once they do, feelings of empowerment and confidence begin to emerge.
Post Your ‘I Own It’ Statements: Each participant has their portrait picture taken holding their ‘I Own It’ sign in front of them. It’s important to have the same background for each picture. If your school purchased ‘I Own It’ t-shirts with the removable stickers, participants can write on the sticker then have their pictures taken for the bulletin board. It’s recommended that the ‘I Own It’ bulletin board stay up for 1-2 months for all to benefit from the experience. Since everyone is involved, it creates a sense of belonging (we’re all in this together). Participants are a part of something bigger than themselves.
Reflect On Your Experience: At the end of the campaign, students, staff and parents have the opportunity to anonymously share a testimonial. These testimonials provide valuable feedback to better meet school needs and the campaign.
How To Sustain The Campaign
During the campaign activities:
Students and staff will naturally be drawn to the ‘I Own It’ bulletin board in search of their own picture and those of friends and teachers. While searching, something magical happens. Observers have an opportunity to see others through a new perspective of what’s important to someone else. This creates a pathway of compassion for others and a greater understanding and acceptance that we all come from different backgrounds.
Examining the bulletin board, lines of communication with others open to share about their important identities.
Since our minds think in patterns, students may be drawn to graph and analyze the ‘I Own It’ pictures into different categories such as hobbies, learning styles, nationality, character traits, gender identities, etc.
Seeing different perspectives from others can support participants in a greater awareness and acceptance of their own identities and well-being in general.
Stickers and bracelets can be given out to participants as a reminder of what they who ‘own’.
Include the ‘I Own It’ Campaign in School and Board Improvement Plans (SIP & BIP).
After the campaign activities:
Post ‘I Own It’ posters of students owning something around the school. These can remain up throughout the year.
Post the original ‘I Own It’ statements in the classroom as a daily affirmation for students to read. These can also be taken home to post in a prominent location such as the fridge.
We’re multi-faceted and constantly evolving. This means participants can continue to be empowered by owning different things that are important to them.
Some schools include what they ‘own’ as a part of their monthly division assemblies.
Other schools have taken on the ‘I Own It’ Campaign as a positive approach to bullying. When you own what you’re being bullied about, you take the power away from the bully. Follow-up activities are available for purchase. Please email if you’re interested.
Connect home to school by asking students to have a mini ‘I Own It’ Campaign with family members and post their pictures on the fridge or another prominent location.
Learn about the Intersectionality of Identities through a workshop and book, ‘My Shoe’ available for purchase.
Some schools decorated shoes with identities as a display for ‘Meet The Teacher Night’.
Younger students can be introduced to the ‘I Own It’ Campaign through the guidance of staff and older students as ambassadors.
How will you support your ‘I Own It’ Campaign?
Photos taken for your bulletin board ($160 includes pictures taken, copies printed and Delivery to school)
T-Shirts for students and staff ($15 for students and $20 for adults; includes removable sticker)
Personalized Posters to be displayed around the school and promote sustainability of the campaign once it's finished ($30 per poster).
Posters can be purchased after the campaign startsBracelets with 'I Own It' ($285 for 250 bracelets)
Stickers with 'I Own It' ($135 for 200 stickers)
'My Shoe' Picture Book to understand our identities ($15)
My Shoe
An additional exercise & opportunity to empower our youth to embrace who they are.
